William hofeb



(No Model.)

W. HOPER.

BELL ATTACHMENT FOR PIANOS.

Patented Feb. 5

Lauren Braihs XVILLIAM HOFEB, OF NEXV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGXOR TO B. SHOXIN- GEE, OF SAME PLACE.

BELL ATTACHMENT FOR FlANOS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 292,815, dated February 5, 1884.

Application filed August 13, 1853.

T0 (0Z5 whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Hornn, of New Haven, in the county f New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Bell Attachments for Pianos; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a sectional top or plan view; Fig. 2, sectional side view.

This invention relates to an attachment for pianos, whereby a series of bells, arranged at some convenient position in the instrument, may at pleasure be struck through the instrumentality of the keys, which cause the hammer to strike the wires; and the invention consists in a series of bells combined with a system of levers, whereby the movement of the key is communicated to the hammers of the respective bells, to cause them to strike simultaneously with the hammer which strikes the wire, and arranged so that by the pedal or otherwise the said levers may be brought into action or disengaged at the pleasure of the player, and as more fully hereinafter de scribed.

A. represents the key of a common pianoaction; B. the board on which the key is supported. Below the keys the series of bells C is arranged, more or less in number, the several bells being tuned in accordance with the wire corresponding thereto. These bells are arranged in a line substantially parallel with the plane of the keys.

D is a vertically-sliding bar arranged in vertical guides E, and so that the said bar will slide freely up and down. This bar is in connection, by links F, with the arm G of a rockshat't, H, to which the pedal is connected, and so that by depressing the pedal the bar D will be raised; and when the pedal is free the bar will drop under the pressure of a spring, I,

acting upon the arm K, which extends from the rock-shaft H or otherwise, and with which arm K the pedal is to be connected.

To the bar D levers a are hung by one end upon a fulcrum, I), the other end extending forward over the keys. Midway between the (X0 model.)

forward end of the levers and their fulcrum i) a rod, (1, is hung to each of the levers upon a pivot, c. The rods (Z extend down and are hung to the arm f of the respective bell-hammers 71., the rods being attached between the pivot i of the arm and the hammer. The harnmcrs rest upon a suitable cushion, Z, to deaden their fall and support them in their normal condition. In this condition the forward ends of the levers a are so far above the rear ends of their respective keys that as the keys are depressed they cannot come into contact with the said levers; but when the pedal is depressed to raise the bar D, then the rear or raise its rear end, as in broken lines, Fig. 2,

the forward end of the lever a will be correspondingly raised, and in so rising will lift its rod (1 and bring the hammer up into contact with the bell, so as to give it the required blow to produce the sound; and while the bar D is thus raised the operation of the respective keys will cause the hammers to strike corresponding bells but when the pedal is free then the bar D drops and disengages the bell attachment from engagement with the keys.

In order to adjust the blow of the respective hammers so that they may all have equal or requisite force of blow, an adj ustingscrew, a, is arranged in the rear end of the keys to make contact between the levers a and their respective keys. If the blow is required to be harder, the screw a is raised, and vice versa. By this construction I am enabled to make a bell attachment complete in itself, and which may be applied to many of the modern constructions of pianos without interfering with the regular action of the instrument, and so that it may be attached to pianos already made, or may be manufactured as an independent article, to be sold for introduction to pianos.

From the rod (2 an arm, 9', extends forward, carrying a pad, 15, at its front end overthe respective bells, and which, as the rod descends, rests upon the bell to stop its vibration, but is raised from the bell as the rod ascends, and so as to leave the bell free for vibration under the blow of the hammer.

IOC

I claim- 1. The hereindeseribed bell attachment for pianos, consisting of thevertically-sliding bar D, arranged for connection with the pedal of the instrument, levers a hung to said bar, each corresponding to one of the keys of the instrument, and extending forward to aposition over the respective keys, a series of bells, 0, their hammers 71, and rods (Z, extending from said levers a, into connection with the respective hammers, said parts being combined and arranged so that said hammers may be brought into engagementor action with the keys or not, at the pleasure of the player, substantially as described.

2. In a bell attachment for pianos, the con1- biuation of the vertically-sliding bar D, levers a, rods (1, hammer-levers f, series of bells O,and the rock-shaft H, in connection with the pedal 01" the instrument, and with the sliding bar D, substantially as and for the purpose described.

l 3. The herein-described bell attachment for pianos, consisting of the vertically'sliding bar D, arranged for connection with the pedal of the instrument, levers a,hung to said bar, each corresponding to one of the keys of the instrument and extending forward to a position over the respective keys, a series of bells, 0, their hammers h, and rodsd, extending from said'levers a into connection with the respective hammers, said parts being combined and arranged so that said hammers may be brought into engagement or action with the keys or not, at the pleasure of the player, and with the adjusting-screw n in the rear end of the key, substantially as described.

XVILLIAM HOFER.

lVitnesses:

S. B. SHONINGER, J. R. DOMAS. 

